Water Row, Govan
For the last four weeks, staff from Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) have been undertaking evaluation excavations in the heart of historic Govan. These excavations, commissioned by the Glasgow South West Regeneration Agency and monitored by WoSAS on behalf of Glasgow City Council, are taking place in the vicinity of Water Row, adjacent to Govan Old Parish Church, an area presumed to have been the site of the Doomster Hill.
The religious and political significance of Govan are reflected in the collection of 10th and 11th century sculptured stones, stone crosses and burial monuments now housed in the parish church. The size and quality of this collection suggests the presence of a royal cemetery, possibly associated with the kings of Strathclyde, who had an estate across the Clyde at Partick. The Doomster Hill, a massive flat-topped mound, lay just to the east of the parish church. The place-name suggests that it may have served as a 'court hill', and was probably also used as a place for public assemblies.
Although Govan and Partick formed the most important royal and ecclesiastical centre on the Clyde in the 10th and 11th centuries, the importance of the church at Govan declined from the 12th century, as it was gradually marginalised by Glasgow Cathderal. However, the Doomster Hill was depicted on early maps such as Roy's Military Survey of 1747-55.
The ongoing works in the Water Row area aim to answer a number of questions relating to the potential redevelopment of Govan. The excavations will attempt to identify the precise location of the Doomster Hill, its size, form and current level of survival. They will also explore the relationship between the Hill and the Old Parish Churchyard. In addition, evidence will be sought for the course of the old burn, depicted on numerous early maps of the area, from which Water Row takes its name. Excavations are also likely to produce material relating to later phases of activity, both in terms of domestic occupation on Water Row and Pearce Lane, and in terms of the industrial uses of the site, which was partially occupied by Reid's dye works in the earlier 19th century, before this was removed to make way for later shipyards.